NeilS

It is nice to look at the fixtures without really fearing many games these days. That is testament to NSWE and Unai Emery’s great work. Yes, It’s a tough start away at Newcastle, but I now think we can put up a good challenge against most teams, and I think I am usually a pessimist. The only team I am not confident about getting a result is Man City.

Yes I think we could easily go ahead and just start to build the new stand. I do think the club are very aware of the transport issue getting worse as a result. Therefore I reckon we are just holding fire on announcing a start date to keep the pressure on the council to agree to stump up funding on their part for the station which will ease match day traffic and improve the links into the area. That is why we saw the article I posted yesterday where Cllr Lee Marsham and Cllr John Cotton are highlighting the financial benefits of the outlay to the wider area if we win the bid for the Euros. A clear message of £30m outlay now could bring over £100m to the local economy in the near future.

Interesting, this may be a key to why we haven't heard a start date for the project yet. Hopefully the funding for the upgrade to the station will be approved shortly so we can get cracking on the project. Villa Park holds key to £117m city cash boost as railway station plea intensifies Leader of Birmingham City Council John Cotton spoke with Aston Villa chiefs last week to discuss stadium development plans Aston Villa will find out in September if their home, Villa Park, will host the UEFA European Championships in 2028. And should the UK and Ireland’s bid be successful, leader of Birmingham City Council John Cotton believes it will boost the local economy by £117 million. Villa Park is one of ten stadiums which are part of the UK and Ireland’s bid to host the tournament. Others include Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, St James’ Park in Newcastle and Hampden Park in Glasgow. It’s understood Villa are awaiting funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority which, in 2021, funded the £30m redevelopment of Perry Barr railway station ahead of the Commonwealth Games. Speaking at Birmingham City Council’s full meeting on Tuesday (June 13), councillor Lee Marsham (Nechells, Lab) put pressure on Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, to stump up the millions needed to upgrade Witton Station in line with Villa’s grand plans to improve their stadium in the months and years to come. In response, Cllr Cotton said: “Now, clearly we want visitors to have the best possible experience so improvements to Witton Station are important, not just for this tournament but for the local community and for Villa fans who are travelling for games in the future.

Tielemans will be a great signing for us if Unai can get him back to his best. I am fairly confident of that having seen him turn around the form of current players this season. Welcome YT.

Steve Hodge from when I was younger, We have had numerous from the relegation years later on.

I am not sure if this is the right place to put this? Conor Hourihane to coach U16s Conor Hourihane to coach Aston Villa U16s next season The Cork man will continue his playing career by day while coaching at former club Villa by night. The 32-year-old Bandon man confirmed to West Cork newspaper The Southern Star that he will continue his playing career — likely at Derby — while coaching at his former club Villa by night. Hourihane told The Southern Star Sport podcast that, “as it stands”, he is set to remain with the club for whom he scored seven goals and laid on 10 assists across 44 appearances last season, earning himself a spot in the League One Team of the Year. However, Hourihane still lives in Birmingham where the Villa U16s train in the evenings, which will allow him to significantly progress his coaching career closer to home from September onwards. “I’m going to be one of a couple of coaches,” said Hourihane, who began doing his coaching badges three years ago. “It’s amazing just to be involved in it.

Let’s hope not, nothing against MacAllister but I hope Liverpool crash and burn and we go sailing past them.

I might be wrong as I haven’t seen a lot of him but I also think the same. However, it could be the case that he is a bit like James Milner was for us in his last spell here. To an outsider looking in he is not a fancy name or overly exciting in what you see on the tv highlights, but you appreciate him fully when you watch him in your own team pulling the strings week in week out.

I did not see those comments to be honest, but I did go to that game. That is good to know, and why in the past I have always thought it best to spend big on a decent proven manager. We are in good hands for the foreseeable.

You could be right and It is hard to say for sure for was going through his mind in the brief seconds during the match. We will never really know unless Ty does a Roy Keane style autobiography when he retires.

My viewpoint on Mings is that I think he meant to Ibrahimovic one where he was out for revenge after he had been elbowed earlier in the match. I don't think he meant the one against Reading, I think that was just unlucky and more clumsy than anything but had a worse outcome for the Reading player. I think the Ibra one being fresh in the mind, gave the impression he was always doing it on purpose so the image had been set.

I think we will as well, but I am still scarred by a number of times we have fallen foul of so called lesser teams over the years. I am still raw from the defeat to Stevenage, but also remember being knocked out late by a late sucker punch goal by Helsingborg in the 90's, losing to Trabzonspor at VP after beating Inter Milan the previous round. That is before we even mention Bradford and Peterborough. I think I just like to ground myself and not getting carried away by vocalising my thoughts, and I don't like it when I see Villa fans dismissing the opposition sometimes as a gimme win. I do think we are in better hands now at Executive and First Team management levels than we have ever been during my time of supporting Villa, so I think we will be ok. I just don't want the players or fans to be over confident and take their eye off the ball, lets bring the atmosphere for all of the matches at VP even if it is against so called minnows. I agree that we will be in a far better position with our rotation options come the end of the summer, if Unai gets his targets. I am fairly hopeful that we will see some top quality signings arriving in the next few weeks to improve that.

I would love for us to give this competition a real good go next season, I don't want us to play a really weakened team with wholesale changes at any point in this competition next year. 1 or 2 younger players like Archer or Tim if they are not on loan somewhere then yes, but alongside our stronger 1st team players as a supplement. You can see from the players and fans at WHU how much it means to win this trophy. I want to experience that as well. We haven't won a trophy for so long, and I don't expect this trophy to be a gimme, but we stand as good a chance as any in this competition next season. Winning trophies becomes a habit, and we need to start somewhere. It has been too long!

Obligatory YouTube video I know we looked pretty solid towards the tail end of last season, but to go higher in the league you have to look for more depth and marginal gains. The nearer the top the more marginal gains you need to make to progress. Sadly this means some of our players we love may be replaced or supplemented along the way. Pau Torres is also hitting the prime of his career. He looks comfortable on the ball, and looks to be a better passer with progressive passes than either of our current two first choice Centre backs, this is what I would call a marginal gain. I also think there is still a big doubt over Carlos’ full recovery and getting such a serious injury at his age leaves a big question mark on him for next season. With the additional matches to be played, that is too big a risk in my opinion. Carlos may well prove to be over his injury, or could suffer a set back which then leaves us short should the worst happen. I say if Torres is willing to come, Emery wants him, then why not get him in. Chambers and Hause move on leaving us with 4 quality centre backs we can rely on, and like others have said Konsa can play RB very well.

Same here, and it’s way to complicated to worry about all the different permutations right now. With Emery as our manager, I don’t think we should fear anyone in this competition. Equally we should always remember Stevenage and respect our opponents. So I don’t believe in playing a weakened team whoever we draw. This will hopefully be a good run, and do some good to our co-efficient going forward.

Up until about a week ago I had never heard of this guy. Then again I don’t watch Champions League or La Liga matches as I don’t have Sky or BT sport subscriptions. I cannot be too disappointed as a result. He is not the only player out there that plays this role. I am sure Unai Emery and Villa will have a few exciting options lined up.

I was thinking this. I could be wrong, but I am sure he left briefly last summer before signing a deal a couple of weeks later for this season.

I must admit that when Cash went off injured early against Man City at home this season and Ash came on I feared the worst. I needn't have feared at all, he kept Foden in his pocket that day. Young has never let us down in any of the matches he has played, and has continued to surprise me as the season went on. He has kept himself supremely fit and was a top pro during his time with us, so I wish him all the best for the future (unless he is playing against us).

I think the very most we will get is £5m, and a saving on our wage bill. I don’t think Luton will go on a trolley dash splurge like Forest did, I see them banking the funds, and being more on the Norwich level of spending. I imagine the fee will probably be undisclosed fee, so we will never really know. I wish Marvelous well, he has been a solid pro who hasn’t quite cemented a regular first team spot with us. We have moved up a level in quality since we purchased him, and with Marv coming up to 30 he needs regular football and he can do that in the PL with Luton. Good luck MN, just not against us.

Well done to Brighton, they have desrved qualification this season as they have been a cosistantly good team throughout. I said a month or so ago that the fixture pile up after the FA Cup semi final may prove tricky for them and open the door for us if we finished strongly, but Brighton picked themselves up after the FA Cup disappointment and have done the business. Hopefully though they will mentally have their flip flops on come Sunday as they have already qualified for Europa League, but we can't rely on that so we will have to turn up and make sure we finish the job ourselves. We need a win and then there are no possibilities for Brentford or Spurs to nick 7th place from us. This would be a remarkable turnaround from where we were after Fulham away, when I feared we would be in a relegation battle all season. The appointment of Unai took away that fear straight away for me, but I did not expect we would perform as well as we have since his arrival. Come on Villa, it has been a tough ten years or so, lets do this and bring the good times back to Villa Park.

I am of the same mindset, it is impossible to tell the truth from the rubbish so why get upset by it. Yes, It would be a sad day if Emi were to leave this summer, but the thing that consoles me if it happens is that the club will receive a large sum of money and that we finally have an elite manager to help find a replacement. Previously under the likes of Big Eck, Sherwood and even Deano, we have sold key players but the manager hasn't bought the best replacements or hasn't been able to get the best out of those replacements. This has resulted in us going backwards and us wasting millions upon millions of pounds on wages and transfers. I don't have that fear with Emery at the helm. I know he won't get them all right, but I reckon his success rate on transfers will be far superior to those I mentioned earlier.

Liverpool FC have some of the most one eyed fans going. They never get any decisions go for them, and they can do no wrong. Best ignored, as it is pointless trying to converse with someone like that.

It looks like Everton are about to get some investment firm chuck some money their way. I cannot say I know alot about these guys, but I guess it brings in some cash to help finish their new ground after the loss of their Russian investor who's name escapes me. Everton Investment Everton have reached an exclusivity agreement with New York-based company MSP Sports Capital for investment in the club, BBC Sport understands. Sources have said the deal is not yet done but talks are progressing between the two parties over future funding. MSP look to have jumped ahead of 777 Partners, who have been in talks over a takeover from owner Farhad Moshiri. Everton are currently two points above the Premier League's relegation zone with one game remaining this season. MSP are believed to be looking for a 25% stake with a preferential share structure, not equity in the club, so would be paid back in interest. MSP Sports Capital describe themselves as investors in sports teams, leagues and businesses that 'pursue ambitious, challenging tasks'. Their current portfolio includes European clubs such as Brondby in Denmark, Augsburg in Germany and Estoril of Portugal. Their chairman, Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi, is the vice-chairman of McLaren and also a minority owner of NBA team Phoenix Suns. He attended the defeat by Southampton in January at Goodison Park and his net worth was valued at £2.9bn by the Paddock Magazine in 2021.

Haha, we have been watching this series as well. The misses tutted when the Go Go Gadget Boots turned into Ski's. It is an enjoyable enough watch though, as long as you don't take it too seriously. It is definitely TV for the end of a hard day, when you don't want to have to think too hard.

Pleased with the point, would have taken that beforehand. I must admit that I feared the worst when 10 mins added time went up. Well played Villa we have come a long way under Unai Emery. 7th place is in our reach now, but there is still a long way to go. We just need to better Brentford and Spurs results and we are there. 7th place was unthinkable in January. Let’s do this!